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Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at one of the short but intense strength sessions that I did this summer and fall. These sessions were in addition to two aerobic sessions per day. Hopefully they’ll help me ski fast this winter! Huge thanks to Andrew Fast at La Sportiva for helping me put it together!

Also, Adam Mahar, who designed and operates the fantasy site, did a bunch of really interesting statistical analysis about predictability and nationality bias in last season’s fantasy picks. The graphs are amazing. Check them out here.

Lastly, fantasy team selection closes tomorrow for the opening weekend of World Cup racing. Don’t forget to finalize your team!

Here is the video from a classic intensity session I did this morning here in Ruka/Kuusamo, Finland. The session was supported by coach Matt Whitcomb. Today was only my second day on snow since September. The workout was 4 by 5 minutes at a very controlled pace. It was not designed to be hard, nor was it hard. I am doing more intensity tomorrow, but this whole week is about getting fully recovered from travel and ready to race a World Cup on Sunday.

As a person who travels internationally and represents the United States of America, the implications of the coming Trump presidency worry me. I fear being viewed through the lens that our president-elect represents, a lens of intolerance and nativism, divine privilege and arrogance. Rather, I’d like to be viewed through a lens of inclusivity, compassion and tolerance. Although I am an American, I do not stand with Trump when he diminishes our fellow humans, incites violence or belittles his critics.

Please understand that I, like so many of my fellow citizens, do not condone the devisiveness of our next president. I do not accept racism. I will not be misogynistic or sexist. I understand that human-caused climate change is an immediate threat to global stability. I prioritize peace. I believe in equal rights and equal protection for the LGBTQ+ community, the disabled community, and peoples of all nationalities, skin colors, socioeconomic statuses and education levels. I welcome immigrants. I believe in the right to worship and represent your religion in any way you see fit, as long as your actions don’t limit the ability of others to do the same. I honor our veterans and our relationships with our allies. Most of all, I dream of a world where every human is valued and has the opportunity to live a happy and fulfilling life.

Know that I acknowledge the division that has split our country, and I recognize that I come from a place of great privilege. I am working to understand the anger and pain, hopelessness and abandonment that so many of my fellow citizens feel. I recognize the need to heal deep and painful wounds and lift up those that are disenfranchised. I, as a U.S. citizen, acknowledge that our global and domestic actions have negatively affected so many lives. I will work to overcome the perils of globalism by finding progressive solutions.

I fear that I will be defined by the whims and tweets of our head of state. I simply ask for your understanding and reservation of judgement.

Yesterday afternoon I repeated the 15 kilometer classic roller ski time trial that I did with my teammates two weeks ago. I did the same course on the same roller skis in similar temperatures. It was an individual start race last time, so it worked well to repeat it even though I was alone yesterday.

The race was at Soldier Hollow and I was supported by U.S. Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb.

In the first effort I did a great job of using my aerobic capacity, but I did it with tempo based skiing. I did not effectively use my power. Here is the heart rate graph from that first effort:

Video from the first effort is here:

My goal for yesterday’s effort was to ski with way more power and to focus on the flatter parts of the course that require more power. I successfully executed those goals. Consequently, I went almost 20 seconds faster. Interestingly, as I changed my focus, my aerobic effort looked and felt much less impressive. Here is a look at the heart rate data from yesterday’s race:

The heart rate profile does show that I have much better intensity based fitness than I did during the last effort because I am recovering much faster when the terrain permits. Here is the video from yesterday’s race:

(The text in the video is repeated several times. It is not correct until the last time it appears.)

With the change of focus, I also had better pacing. Here are my lap times from the first race:

Lap 1: 10:07

Lap 2: 10:08

Lap 3: 10:22

Lap 4 (half lap): 6:38

Total: 37:15

Lactate: 13.9 mmol

And here are the times from yesterday’s race:

Lap 1: 10:10

Lap 2: 10:11

Lap 3: 10:06

Lap 4 (half lap): 6:30

Total: 36:57

Lactate: 10.0 mmol

I am very happy with the changes I made from the first race to the second. I want to carry the lessons I learned through to the season, and I am excited to test it on snow against a World Cup field.

The National Cross Country Ski Education (NCCSEF) became the National Nordic Foundation (NNF) just as I was breaking through to the international level of cross country skiing, around the time of the Vancouver Olympics. This transition was part of a cosmic shift in U.S. Cross Country Skiing, and I could not have timed my career better if I’d had a choice.

The creation of the NNF meant that there was finally a platform for the U.S. ski community, which is bigger, more passionate, more supportive and more generous than anyone previously knew, to make a difference in the success of this country’s best skiers. Not only did the community take advantage of this new platform as a way to show support, but we, as a U.S. ski community, saw an almost immediate return on our investment.

Soon after the creation of the NNF and the increased level of support to the best skiers, it became almost laughably apparent that we had found the missing link. With the increased funds we, as a country, went from World Cup points (top-30) being a great day to having a three-time World Cup Crystal Globe winner (Kikkan Randall), three different athletes that have World Championship medals (Kikkan, Jessie Diggins and Caitlin Gregg) and five different athletes that have World Cup or Stage World Cup wins (Kikkan, Jessie, Sophie Caldwell, Simi Hamilton and me). We also now have a women’s relay and sprint relay team that expects to be on the podium every time they toe the start line.

The impact that the U.S. ski community’s support has had on results could not be clearer, but we still have a long way to go to get to where we can and should be as a country. We still have not won an Olympic medal since Bill Koch won silver in Innsbruck 1976.

The only way we can continue to achieve our loftier and loftier goals is by continuing to rely on the NNF. Thank you for continuing to support the NNF and for having such a huge impact on our nation’s success.

I am super psyched to announce the return of Noah Hoffman Fantasy Cross Country! Again I’ve been working with programmer Adam Mahar to get the site ready to go for the 2016-17 World Cup season! In addition, I have brought in Muffy Roy to help me with the marketing and day-to-day management of the site.